Sole flap splitting machine



May. 4, 1954 R. F. LANE SOLE FLj-AP SPLITTING MACHINE 7 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 4, 1952 In ubnzor Fobcm Lane R. F. LANE SOLE FLAP SPLITTING MACHINE May 4, 1954 Filed March 4, 1952 7 Sheets-Sheet 2 AWN WWN 0 11308121 0 E0 17am flame May 4, 1954 R. F. LANE SOLE FLAP SPLITTING MACHINE 7 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed March 4, 1952 .1 5 16 135 j [nuanfor Robert/Zane y 1954 R. F. LANE sous FLAP SPLITTING MACHINE 7 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed March 4, 1952 r m e U I Robert/Zane y 4, 1954 R. F. LANE SOLE FLAP SPLITTING MACHINE Filed March 4. 1952 '7 Sheets-Sheet 5 11 van for Rober'zflane R. F.. LANE SOLE FLAP SPLITTING MACHINE May '4, 1954" 7 Sheets-Sheet 6 Filed March 4, 1952 May 4, 1954 R. F. LANE 2,677,140

SOLE FLAP SPLITTING MACHINE Filed March 4, 1952 7 Sheets-Sheet 7 p a 0 g 7 I 14 4 x96 2 3% 21326 141% 222- QM a QR 5 6 I 234 22a jg? 2,20 ex/93244306 06 In van far Patented May 4, 1954 SOLE FLAP SPLITTIN G MACHINE Robert F. Lane, Beverly, Mass, assignor to United Shoe Machinery Corporation, Flemingtcn, N. J a corporation of New Jersey Application March 4, 1952, Serial N0. 274,711

(Cl. 121(i.5)

12 Claims.

This invention relates to sole flap splitting rnachin as and is herein illustrated as embodied in a machine of the type shown in Letters Patent of the United States No. 2,603,802, granted July 22, 1952, upon my application for improvements in Sole Flap Splitting Machines.

Such machines are employed, for example, in splitting a heel-breast-covering flap from the heel end of a sole and it is sometimes desired to employ them for soles which have been red 'ced and sometimes for those which are of uniform thickness transversely of the sole. As in the patented machine it is sometimes desired to out a breast flap of substantially uniform thickness and sometimes to provide such a flap with a 1 It is also desired to so split the Iiap as to provide a relatively thick hinge portion where the flap is attached to the body of the sole.

One object of the invention is, therefore, to provide an improved machine capable of handling a wide variety of work with a minimum number of adjustments or changes between operations upon one type of work and another.

For the reason that an operator standing at the front of the machine desires to handle work stacked upon one side of the machine and deposit it upon other side of the machine, he customarily takes a sole from a stack at one side and moves it transversely of the machine until it is opposite the operating point. Furthermore, at the end of the operation he usually moves the solelaterally from the operating point to the other side or the machine where it may be deposited in a receptacle or behind in a stack. Accordingly, the machine, in accordance with a feature of the invention, is now constructed with its work handling devices, such as the matrix and the work feeding roll, located close to the front Of the reciprocating knife carrier of the machine with such auxiliary parts, as the side members upon which the work supporting roll is carried, terminating substantially in a plane transversely of the machine adjacent to the work handling members. This enables the path of movement of the work as it is presented to the machine to extend transversely thereof, without requiring much front-to-back movement in presenting the work to the knife.

Associated with this feature of the invention are other features such as the location of the pressure springs at a point substantially removed from the froint ends of the roll carrying arms. Still another feature of the improved arrangement of the machine permits a cam, which controls the clipping of the work supporting roll at the completion of the forward movement of the knife carrier, to be located at the rear of the knife and between it and the crank-operated end of a connecting rod which serves to slide the carrier back and forth.

Although the machine is so constituted that it is possible to feed either a reduced sole to the work gripping members or to present a block sale of full thickness, the improved machine includes manual means for adjusting an abutment for one end of the toggle which is effective to lower the work supporting roll at the termination of the splitting action. Thus, by a simple hand wheel and screw mechanism the position of this abutment may be very quickly changed so that the upper end of the range of movement of the supporting roll is more widely spaced from the matrix when soles of full thickness are to be presented to the machine.

Another object of the invention is to provide for accurately positioning the soles so that the hinge of the breast covering flap shall be at a predetermined distance from the heel end of the sole.

This object is accomplished in the illustrated machine by providing a disappearing gage mechanism having gage members which project upwardly through the work table at the end of the cycle so that they constitute, in effect, abutments against which the sole may be pressed. Such gages are, however, in the path of movement of the knife edge and if ieft in position would push the sole away from the knife rather than permit the intended action. Accordingly, a lost-motion mechanism is provided for withdrawing the gage members below the work supporting table automatically. This withdrawal is preferably completed a short time after the knife carrying head starts to move and in the illustrated machine provision is made for adjusting the time when the automatic mechanism is made effective.

Still another feature of the invention resides in an arrangement whereby a canvas curtain which is interposed between the front of the machine and the moving front end of the carrier beneath a sole is held stationary and hence does not disturb the position of the latter. To this end it is carried over a roller at the front of the knife carrier and then back under itself to a forward point where it is tensioned as by the provision of a weight.

These and other features of the invention will best be understood from consideration of the 3 following specification taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which Fig. 1 is an angular view of the machine;

Fig. 2 is a vertical section through the knife carriage at approximately its center and extending along a plane parallel to the sides of the carriage;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the machine and especially the knife carriage;

Fig. 4 is a front elevation of the work handling parts of the machine;

Fig. 5 is an elevation on a larger scale of the knife carriage, viewed from the right hand side of the machine;

Fig. 6 is a vertical front-to-back section through the machine, showing the disappearing gage mechanism;

Fig. 7 is an enlarged view also in vertical section of this gage mechanism but taken in another position of the cycle of the machine;

Fig. 8 is a plan view of the gage mechanism; and

Fig. 9 is a vertical transverse section on the line IX-IX of Fig. 8.

The machine comprises a frame I having a skirt II (Fig. 6) provided with bushings lid. The bushings and hence the frame are secured to the tops of posts I3 within a casing I (Fig. 1) The base of the frame has longitudinally extending ways I2 (Fig. 4) in the form of upwardly projecting dovetail ribs to provide for reciprocation of the work handling parts of the machine. A carrier I6 which is shaped to engage the outside faces of the ways I2 (Fig. 4) is slidable lengthwise of the machine from front to back and is provided with a transverse arched member I8.

This carrier serves to support a splitting knife 2|] (Fig. 6), a supporting roll 22 and a drag bar or matrix 24. It is arranged to be reciprocated along the ways I2 by a connecting rod 26 pivotally connected to the carrier by'means of a vertical pin 28 extending between the arch is (Fig. 2) and a transverse portion 29 of the carrier I5. The rear end of the connecting rod 26 is pivoted to a crank 30 (Fig. 6) at the upper end of a vertical shaft 32. The shaft is arranged to be driven from a source of power (not shown) by means of a worm 34 upon a transverse shaft 36 engaging a worm gear 38 at the bottom of the shaft 32. In-

terposed between the shaft 32 and the crank 30 there is a one-revolution clutch 48 similar to that of my earlier application, now Patent No. 2,603,- 802, and controlled by a cable 42 extending over a cross rod 44 on the frame and thence down to a treadle (not shown). The notches of the driving half of the clutch have been provided with square sided bottom portions to prevent chattering.

The knife 29 is detachably secured to the portion 29 of the carrier I8 by screws 3i (Fig. 3) and its forward sharpened edge lies closely adjacent to the matrix 24 (Fig. 2) and to the top of the supporting roll 22. The carrier is also provided with a table 46 (Fig. 6) through which project gage pins 48 and on the front edge of which there is a transverse roller 50. Over this roller passes a canvas curtain 52 secured at its forward end by a bar 54 to a front plate 55 removably attached to the frame of the machine. The other end of the curtain slides over a cross rod 56. This latter is supported by cars 51 on the inside of the front plate. The curtain 52 hangs down at the front of the machine just inside of the casing I5 (Fig. 1) and its lower end is weighted so that it is maintained taut between the front of the machine and the roller 50 as the carrier slides back and forthwith no motion of any part while that part contacts a sole.

The supporting roll 22 is made up of a series of thin, toothed disks splined to and clamped upon a transverse shaft 62 which is journaled in each of a pair of tiltably mounted side arms 54. A stripper 65 (Fig. 2) prevents the heel end of a light sole from wrapping around the roll 22. The arms 64 are pivoted upon studs 66 at the rear of the carrier I6 and on their outer sides are provided with trains of gears 68 (Figs. 3 and 5). One end of each train is secured to the supporting roll shaft 62 and the other ends of the trains mesh with the teeth of racks I0 extending lengthwise of the frame It beside the ways l2. As may be seen in Fig. 4, these racks lie in grooves in the frame In and are protected by side flanges I2, I4 integral with the frame. As a result of this arrangement the supporting roll 22 is driven clockwise, when viewed as in Fig. 5, to help to keep the work against the edge of the knife 28 thereby to split a flap from the sole.

.On the other hand, when the carrier retreats to complete its cycle the side arms (54 are depressed by mechanism to be later described and the supporting roll is driven counterclockwise (Fig. 5) so that, while there is no movement of the sole with respect to the frame of the machine, any danger of tearing the flap is avoided because this linear speed of the top of the supporting roll is equal to the linear speed of the carrier IE upon the frame.

It is important that the supporting roll 22 shall be held firmly in engagement with the work during the forward movement of the carrier and to that end the machine is provided with heavy springs '76 (Fig. l) surrounding rods f8 which extend vertically at each side of the carrier. The lower ends of these rods are threaded in the side arms 64 (Fig. 5) and they pass through apertures in side lugs 88 upon the carrier. The springs 16 bear upon the upper surface of these lugs and they are confined by washers and nuts 82 at the upper ends of the rods '18. The arrangement of the side arms on the carrier is such that ample space is provided for the springs it which may be as large as is necessary for the intended purpose of holding the supporting roll 22 in firm contact with the sole.

When it is desired to depress the roll supporting arms 6 as during the retreating movement of the carrier, this is done by means of camoperated toggles 84. The lower portion of each toggle is made up of parallel links 86 pivoted to the side arm 64 and pivoted at 88 to the mid point of a bell crank 98 the upper end of which is rounded and received in a socket 92 of an adjustable abutment 94 pivoted on the carrier at 95. The upper ends of these abutments are joined by a crossbar 98 the position of which with respect to the carrier is determined by a hand screw I93. The shank IUI of this screw passes through an upstanding portion I02 integral with the carrier bridge I8 and is provided with a nut I64 having one end curved for easy adjustment with re-- spect to a similarly shaped recess in the crossbar 98. Similarly, a round faced washer I66 is positioned beneath the hand wheel of the adjusting screw between it and the upward extension I02. Thus, in spite of the heavy pressure involved there is no binding of this hand screw with respect to the two portions to which it is joined, and it is possible for an operator, changing from reduced soles to those with a thick end, to change the initial position of the roll 22 without changing the extent of dipping movement caused by a mechanism which will be described now.

The lower ends of the bell cranks 98 are joined by links I08 to a U-shaped lever made of arms Iii) and a cross bar I II carrying a stud H2 at the top of which is a partly spherical ball I I4 resting against the similarly curved edge of a cam plate I I6 which is bolted to the underface of the connecting rod 26 between the pin 28 and the crank 88 and thus in a space away from the front and not needed for other parts of the machine. The contour of this plate is shown in Fig. 3 and the cam becomes effective when the connecting rod 25 swings on the carrier around the pin 28 as the crank rotates. When the cycle starts, the connecting rod is tilted away from the longitudinal center line of the machine viewed in plan so that the cam roll H4 moves along a portion IE8 which is concentric with the axis of the pin 23. On the other hand, as the connec ing rod 23 is swung to pull back the carrier, the cam roll Ill will ride up upon a hump :25 of the cam plate file thereby rapidly straightening the toggle E l and causing the side arms 84 (Fig. to be dipped to lower the supporting roll 22. After the cam roll passes the hump I28 it rides along a concentric portion I22 of the cam plate keeping the roll 22 depressed until the beginning of another cycle.

Similarly the matrix 24 (Fig. 5) is rotatably supported at its ends in the carrier and it has an upstanding arm 52 3 provided with a grooved head I25 topped by a cam roll I 23. Resting in a groove of the head I26 is one arm of a U-shaped spring I88 (Fig. 3) attached at its other end to a lug 932 on a curved cross member I34 forming part of the carrier frame and carrying a removable guard plate 135 (Figs. 1, 2 and 3). It will be noted (Fig. 5) that the stud I26} passes through a slot in this cross member I34 and that the cam roll 28 rests against the rear face of a depending cam I36. This cam 53!; is provided with a forked support 38 having side arms Hill which engage grooves I42 in the opposite faces of a connecting rod 26 which is a forward extension of the member M4. The extension is attached to the connecting rod 25 by a screw I 35 in a slot to permit slight lateral adjustment of the member thereby to control the timing of the cam I36, thus enabling the forming of a thicker hinge if desired. A cross screw M6 joining the side arms its extends through a slot M8 in the extension EM and clamps the support I38 thereto. The front and back position of the cam plate I55 with respect to the connecting rod extension M l may be adjusted by a thumb screw I58 threaded into the end of the extension M4 and having a head which rests against the front face of the cam plate support E38. This cam plate I35 is designed to operate upon the same general principle as the cam plate H8 and is operative to tilt the matrix 24 to relieve the drag upon the upper surface of the sole during the retreating movement of the carrier.

In this matrix, as in my earlier machine, there is an oblique rod I52 (Fig. 4) which supports a matrix modifying plate 154 used to fill a recess E58, which extends across the bottom of the matrix from front to back, during a portion of the cycle of the carrier so as thereby to control formation of a strengthening rib upon the flap which is being split from the sole.

This oblique rod I52 has a threaded extension 6 I 58 permitting ready adjustment of its length and has a head grooved to provide spaced flanges I58 between which there is received the forked lower end I62 of a control member I64. Thus adjustment of the extension does not disturb the interengagement between the forked end I62 and the grooved head. This control member IE4 is attached to the forward end of a swinging lever I58 (Fig. 3) pivoted upon a stud I58 threaded in a lateral extension I18 of the carrier. The control member has an integral casing I12 to receive one end of a spring I14 the other end of which bears against a side face of the bridge I8 upon the carrier I6. In the casing I12 there is an adjustable bottom plate I16 to control the tension of the spring Ill.

The swinging lever I66 has 2. depending portion I18 in which there is vertically slidable a rod I88 carrying at its lower end a riding roll I82 and a somewhat larger cam roll I84. The rod I8!) is grooved to receive a spring-operated retaining member I85 so that the rod may be positioned to bring the cam roll I84 against the side face of a cam strip I 88. The cam strip I88 has slot and screw clamping means I89 by which it is adjustably mounted upon the top of the side flange 12. One end of this cam strip is beveled to shift the matrix filling plate I54 from a positicn where the roll is off the cam and a strengthening rib of full height is being formed upon the flap, to a position where the cam roll I82 engages the side of the strip I88 and no rib is being formed. Adjustment of the position of this cam strip ass enables control of the location of the tapering end of the reinforcement as in my earlier machine. When, on the forward stroke of the carrier, the cam roll I84 rides off the tapered end of the cam strip, then the riding roll I82 engages the side of the flange 12 and prevents further rotation of the lever 56 by the spring I'M.

The disappearing gage pins 48 which extend up through openings in the table 46 and which are used to determine the location of the end of a sole, are mounted upon a U-shaped pivoted support 288 (Figs. 6 and 7). The table is attached to the ends of the roll-carrying arms B l (Fig. 5) by screws 2M (Figs. 8 and 9). This support 288 is carried by a cross pin 202 extend ing between upturned ends 284 upon a block 28% which slidably engages the inner and top faces of the dovetailed shaped ways I2 and which is provided with a friction gib 208 so that it willl not slide upon the ways unless it is pushed. The U-shaped support 208 is held upward in the position shown in Fig. 6 by a spring 218 underlying a cross bar 2I2 thereon (Fig. 8).

Movement of this block 286' to the left in 6 is effected by pins 2M (Fig. 8) extending inwardly from the carrier I6 and positioned to engage upright flanges 2I6 near one end of the block. Movement of the block in the other direction is effected by depending lugs 228 which, as shown in Fig. 9, are T-shaped in section and and are adjustably mounted in grooves in the underface of a cross plate 222 secured at its ends by screws 22 and dowel pins to the bottom of the plate forming the table =25.

In order to adjust the position of the lugs 22S thereby to control the timing of the depression of the gage pin support 280, as will later appear, the mechanism includes an intermediate cross plate 226 having diagonal slots 228 (Fig. 8) for engagement with pins 230 which extend upwardly from the lugs 228 and which pass through front-to-back slots 232 in the lower plate 222. The intermediate plate 226 is guided for movement transversely of the table by depending rectangular projections 234 which are received in slots 236 in the lower plate 222. At one end. the intermediate plate 226 has an upward extension 238 to which there is attached a hand screw 2% the shank of which passes through a transverse slot 242 in the table. This screw serves as a handle to slide the plate 226 and is provided with an enlarged head resting against hte upper surface of the table to clamp the intermediate plate 226 in its adjusted position. When the screw 24B is at its extreme left-hand position, as viewed in Figs. 8 and 9, a movement of the carrier it forward for about a quarter of an inch will cause the gage pins to disappear. Any adjustment of the screw to the right will necessitate a longer movement of the carrier before the gage pins 48 are drawn down.

Depression of the gage pin support 209, in order to prevent the pins 48 from pushing aside a sole when splitting starts, is effected by a cam nose 2M (Figs. 6 and 7) which is integral with and hangs down below the bottom plate 222. This has an inclined forward surface adapted for engagement with an inclined rearward surface Hi8 formed upon the cross portion of the U-shaped support 200 for the gage pins. These surfaces cooperate, as indicated in Fig. 7, to depress the gage pin support 200 soon after the carrier l starts to move forward toward the operator to grip the end of the sole between the matrix roll 24 and the supporting roll 22. At this point the side pins M4 on the carrier It will engage the upright flanges 2l6 at the rear end of the plate 206. From there on, for the rest of the forward movement of the carrier It, the gage support 280 will remain in the position shown in Fig. 7. However, when the carrier starts upon its retrograde movement, away from the operator, the pins 2 M will be moved away from the vertical fianges 2 iii and, owing to the friction between the block 255 and the ways l2, the block and its gage pin support will remain motionless until the depending lugs 220 come against the end of the block 236 and start to move it rearwardly. Just before this the nose 244 will have slipped over the cam surface 248 on the pin carrier allowing the pins to rise into engagement with the undersurface of the sole. This, however, will do no harm because the cutting operation will have been completed at that time.

In the use of the machine the action of the parts will take place in the same sequence as was described in connection with the earlier machine save as regards this gage mechanism, the operation of which has been just described. Briefly, a sole will be placed upon the table it and will also be supported partially by the canvas holding bar 54. As the operator depresses the treadle, setting in motion the crank 30 and its connecting rod 26, the carrier It will be reciprocated and the knife moved forward to split a flap from the sole. During this movement the supporting roll 22 will be rotated clockwise, as seen in Fig. 6, being driven by the interaction of the gears on the carrier with the racks '10 along the sides of the frame and the shape of the flap will be determined by the matrix 25 and its recess 156 together with the shiftable matrix plate I56. The shifting movement of this plate I54 will be effected by the cam I86 acting upon the roll 84. At the start of the return movement of the carrier the matrix 24 will be tilted to release the flap and the roll 8 22 will be turned in the opposite direction, being also depressed by the action of the cam H6.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a splitting machine, a base, a carrier slidable on the base, a splitting tool on the carrier, a drag bar above the tool, means tiltable on said carrier for supporting the work against the drag bar, a crank for providing power to move the car rier, a connecting rod joined to said crank and pivoted on the carrier, means for depressing the supporting means to carry it to inoperative position, springs adjacent to the free end of the tiltable support for holding it in operative position, and a cam on the connecting rod between the point of its attachment to the carrier and the crank for operating said depressing means.

2. In a splitting machine, a base, a carrier slidable on the base, a splitting tool on the carrier, a roll support tiltable on the carrier, a roll for supporting the work journaled in said support, spring means for holding said roll support in operative position, a crank for providing power to move the carrier, a connecting rod joined to said crank and pivoted on the carrier, a toggle for depressing the support to carry the roll to inoperative position, springs for holding the roll in operative position, a cam for operating said toggle, abutment on the carrier for one end of the toggle and manually adjustable means for varying the position of said abutment.

3. In a splitting machine, a carrier, a knife and awork supporting means movable with said carrier lengthwise of the machine, a matrix presser member on said carrier having a recess, a movably mounted modifying device for rendering the matrix recess ineifective, a m vably mounted arm for operating said matrix modifying device, a grooved head adjustably attached to said device, means on said arm engaging the groove of said head, and means for moving said arm as the carrier is moved along the Work.

i. In a splitting machine, a knife, means for producing relative movement between a piece of work and said knife, means for controlling the work as said relative movement takes place comprising a drag bar and anopposedsupporting member, said drag bar having a matrix recess, a device associated with said drag bar and movable so as progressively to fill the recess, a grooved head threaded to said device, and an arm operated by said relative movement producing means engaging said groove to effect movement of said matrix filling device in timed relation to said relative movement.

5. In a splitting machine, a knife, a movable carrier therefor having a transverse rod, means for reciprocating said knife carrier to split the heel end of a sole, a work table adjacent to the front of the knife carrier underlying the work in various positions of said carrier, a fixed plate at the front of said carrier, a flexible sheet fastened to said fixed plate and extending over said rod, and means for keeping said sheet taut as the cutting action progresses without moving that portion of the sheet which underlies the forward part of the sole.

6. In a splitting machine, a base, a knife car-- rier slidable on the base, a work table secured to said carrier, a slide guided for front and back movement and having a lost-motion connection to said carrier, a gage normally projecting above said work table movably mounted on said slide for up-and-down movement with respect thereto,

and. interacting means between the table and the slide for withdrawing the gage beneath the table upon relative movement between the table and the slide.

7. In a splitting machine, a base, ways extending along the base, a knife carrier slidably engaging the outer sides of said ways, said carrier having an apertured work table, gage pins projecting through said apertures to terminate above the table, a slid frictionally engaging the inner sides of the Ways, means on the carrier to push said slide back and forth with lost motion between the two, a support for said gage pins tiltable on the slide, and coacting surfaces upon the table and the tiltable support operative to withdraw the gage pins beneath the table as a result of the relative movement between the table and the slide.

8. In a splitting machine, a base, a carrier having a work table, said carrier being slidable on the base, a slide having a delayed movement with respect to the carrier, yieldable means on the slide, gage pins carried by said means and projecting above the table, and a cam upon the table for depressing yieldable support upon relative movement between the carrier and the slide.

9. In a splitting machine, a base, a carrier slidable upon the base, a gage carrying slide slidable adjacent to the carrier, said carrier having abutments providing a lost-motion connection between the carrier and the slide, and means operative upon relative movement between the carrier and the slide for depressing the gage.

10. In a splitting machine, a base, a carrier slidable upon the base, a gage carrying slide slidable on the base adjacent to the carrier, said carrier having abutments providing a lost-motion connection between the carrier and the slide, and means operative upon relative movement between the carrier and the slide for depressing the gage, the abutment engaging one end of the slide being movably supported upon the table.

11. In a splitting machine, a base, a carrier slidable upon the base, a gage-carrying slide slidabie on the base adjacent to the carrier, said carrier having abutments providing a lost-motion connection between the carrier and the slide, means operative upon relative movement between the carrier and the slide for depressing the gage, the abutment upon the table end of the carrier being slidable thereon from front to back, and a transversely adjustable slide connected to said abutments to control their position upon the table.

12. In a splitting machine, a base, a carrier slidable upon the base, a slide having a lost-motion connection to said carrier, a U-shaped lever pivoted at the rear of the slide and having an inclined cam surface on its transverse portion, gage pins on said U-shaped support, said carrier having a depending cam adapted to contact said cam surface upon relative movement between the slide and the carrier to Withdraw the gage pins beneath the surface of the table.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number 

